an early Christmas present

I received a present in the mail from a friend I made over the course of last school year. This particular gentlemen is a retired educator who spent last year as a volunteer in my classroom. His original purpose was to aid in whatever ways I needed throughout the day. By the end of the year, he was running small groups or working one-on-one with students who needed some extra help and attention. As rigorous as last year was, his presence made the days easier, if even by only a small margin.

As the year progressed, his activity picked up as well as his pen. He would document various episodes which occurred (both good and bad), type them up, and give them for me to read over. I think he wanted me to read it for pleasure, but I liked to use them as an informal observation of how I handled things in my classroom, both positively and negatively. Sometimes I would come away challenged, while others times encouraged by my progress. It was another unexpected blessing God gave me as I labored through each day.

Well, my friend decided to take all his documents and transpose them into a memoir of sorts. I believe his hope was to aid educators near and far by providing a glimpse into a specific classroom. The final result is roughly 150 pages of the journey my students and I went on last year. Some of the chapters revolved around my interactions with them, while others are more isolated to particular students. I am looking forward to bringing this book along with my to India as a pleasant stroll down one of the hardest years of my life (to this point).

If you would like to borrow it at some point, I can lend it out. If you would like to purchase it for yourself (yup, I figured I would help him advertise) look for The Village of Poe by Clifton Dwight Edwards. Hopefully, it can be a blessing to all who read it. I know it will be one for me.